Angus bull makes $6750

A large crowd gathered at the Great Southern Regional Saleyards, Mt Barker, for their share of top quality genetics offered by nine studs and spanning five breeds, with a total of 57 bulls offered.

Of those, 45 bulls were sold under the hammer of Landmark stud stock auctioneer John Wirth, with the majority of the passed-in lots snapped up immediately following the sale, which grossed $185,750 and averaged $4128.

The breed that made the greatest impression in the ring was the Angus, with three studs offering 19 bulls to sell all but one and achieving the highest averages across the board.

The sale top price of $6750 was registered by Greg Brown's Ponderosa Angus stud, Albany, while the $6250 second top price was reached twice by the other two Angus studs, the Coffey's Denbar stud, Denbarker and Burrows' Mason Valley stud, Albany.

Standing out from the crowd and entering the ring as lot 48, the aptly-named Ponderosa Performer H7 (AI) had all the figures to get all the fingers in the air as multiple bidders tried their best to secure the burly Angus sire.

Proving they had the stamina and purchasing power to outlast the others, Wayne and Serena Matthews, Kangarabbi Farms, Narrikup, became the proud new owners of Performer for the $6750 price tag.

Long-time buyers and happy customers, the Matthews already had five Ponderosa Angus bulls at their Narrikup property and attended the sale looking for an excellent bull to complete their sire battery.

They found it with Performer, which had figures of +7.9 BWT, +20 milk and an eye muscle area of +6.9, while the growth figures were also impressive at +59, +100 and +124 for its 200, 400 and 600-day weights.

The bull, which had a very good temperament, was sired by K C F Bennett Performer and out of one of Ponderosa's best and most reliable cows, Ponderosa Wilcoola A2 (AI) (ET).

Buyer Wayne Matthews purchased the bull to use over his 400 Angus cross cows to produce stores and replacement breeders.

"The bulls all have good temperaments, they are from a local stud and most of all, we get beautiful calves from them," Wayne said.

The Matthews' quickly followed their purchase to buy Ponderosa Hector H12 for $6000, while M & M Gorman, Wellstead, snapped up the third and final Ponderosa bull for $3750.

The stud finished with a gross of $16,500 and a $5500 average.

Stepping into the ring as the first Angus stud, but with their last sale offering, was Michael and Ruth Coffey's Denbar Angus stud, Denbarker.

It was the last line of Denbar bulls to be put under the hammer after the stud dispersed last year, with buyers showing great support and clearing all but one of the 12 Angus bulls offered, with the remaining bull selling immediately afterwards for $3000.

Denbar finished with a $47,500 gross and one of the top averages at $4318.

But it was the first bull, Denbar H75, that achieved the equal second top price of the sale at $6250, which was paid by MJ Blyth & Co, Manypeaks.

Produced by the same sire as the top-priced Ponderosa bull, K C F Bennett Performer, and out of Denbar D147, the Blyths were keen on its good growth and muscle figures, plus the +16 milk figure.

The remaining 10 Denbar bulls were spread between eight buyers, with the volume buyer of the day being PR & SM Marshall, Albany, who paid good values to take home three Denbar Angus sires for $5000, $4000 and $4750.

Rounding out the Angus offering was the Burrow family's Mason Valley stud, Albany, who sold all four of their bulls to gross $23,000 and record the sale's highest average of $5750.

As previously mentioned, the stud achieved the sale's equal second top price of $6250 for Mason Valley Rumble H18, which had a tonne of depth, length and muscle.

With a description like that, it was no surprise that Rumble was the heaviest weaned last year and used by the Burrows to back up the artificial insemination (AI) program.

It was purchased by FV Hortin & Sons, Torbay and had been sired by Mason Valley Rolling Thunder F3 and out of Mason Valley Red Ochre D001.

Previously mentioned volume buyer, PR & SM Marshall, purchased his fourth Angus bull from Mason Valley for $5000, while Watterson Estate, Tenterden, paid $6000 to secure the second last Angus bull.

The section was rounded out by DJ & BE Bell, Albany, who bought Mason Valley Smoke N Thunder H17 for $5750.

p Simmental

The Simmental breed got this year's Blue Ribbon off to a solid start, particularly with the input of Kevin and Janice Hard's Naracoopa Simmental stud, Denmark.

The stud offered 10 well-rounded Simmental bulls to open the bidding and even though buyers were shy at the beginning, to pass-in the first bull, the other nine sold to good values to gross $36,750 and average $4083.

But negotiations quickly ensued and the first Naracoopa sire was sold before the sale had ended for $3250 to clear the lot.

The stud also achieved a top price of $6000, which was paid for Naracoopa Henry, by Chris Blight, Narrikup.

A home-grown bull, Henry was sired by Naracoopa Cracker and out of Naracoopa Dolphin and when it was born on January 2, 2012, it recorded a birthweight of +3.2.

Henry then went on to post +18, +34 and +29 for its 200, 400 and 600-day weights, in addition to +4 milk.

Stud principal Kevin Hard said the Blights were repeat buyers and had purchased a very soft, easy-doing bull that was ideal for producing baby beef, as well as breeding heifer replacements with good milk traits in its bloodlines.

A volume buyer for the stud was Thornton Farms, Denmark, which purchased two Simmental sires for $4000 each, while the remaining Naracoopa bulls were evenly divided among six buyers seeking one each.

Also representing the Simmental breed was the WA College of Agriculture, Denmark's Inlet Views stud, offering three upstanding bulls and clearing Inlet Views Heineken for $3250, when it was purchased by JW Burton, Denmark.

p Charolais

The Charolais proved a bit harder to sell this year, with two studs offering an impressive line-up of 16 bulls and clearing nine due only to a lack of buying support.

First to enter the ring was the Lambert's Token Charolais stud, Lower King, with the largest offering of 10 sires, clearing four for $3000 each to gross $12,000.

The first bull, Token Highgate, went to EP & TJ Johnston & Sons, which was followed by J & TJ Ross, Denmark, who bought Token Holyoake.

Then it was another Ross family from Denmark, GB & JA Ross, who purchased Token Henry, while Mountain Valley Livestock, Mt Barker, snatched up the last Token bull on offer, Heathcliffe.

Next on the bill was the Doug and Dani Giles' Quicksilver Charolais stud, Newdegate, who fared a bit better and cleared five of the six bulls offered to gross $17,000 and average $3400.

The stud's $4000 top-priced bull, Quicksilver Happy (AI) (P), made its new owner Graham Ayers Livestock, Bornholm, very happy indeed with its +4 milk index, +1.9 EMA and retail beef yield of +0.9pc.

Mr Ayers also purchased the following bull, Quicksilver Harry (AI) (P) for $3500 and then the very last Charolais bull Quicksilver Hazzbeen (P) (R/F) for the same amount.

R & J Crossing, Young Siding, paid $3000 for Quicksilver Huffy (AI) (ET) (R/F) while GB & JA Ross followed their Token purchase by paying $3000 for Quicksilver H28 (AI) (P/S) (R/F).

p Blonde D'Aquitane

This year the Blonde D'Aquitane was represented by one stud bringing two outstanding animals into the ring - Kevin Beal's Blueprint Blonde stud.

Despite being described by Landmark auctioneer John Wirth as being two of the finest examples of the breed he has seen this year, only Blueprint Howzat (ET) (H) was sold for $3000 to Martin & Flavel, Millbrook.

Howzat was a soft-handling bull with a well-muscled frame, showing all the depth and length needed to breed excellent Blonde progeny.

Its birthweight measured +0.6, in addition to +10, +18 and +24 for its 200, 400 and 600-day weights.

p Murray Grey

Coming in last but certainly a frontrunner, was the Murray Grey breed, with Viv Giles' Willawa Greys Murray Grey stud, Newdegate, putting forward a team of seven bulls that were a true representation of the breed.

All seven sold to gross $26,750 and average $3821, while the $4750 top price was achieved by one of the stud's youngest bulls, Willawa Greys Himself (PB).

Born on July 5, 2012, Himself was purchased by JL & MC Whitely, Wandering, who liked the look of the soft, well-structured bull that held plenty of breeding potential.

Even though the bull was just being Himself, it still showed breeding traits from its sire Tarlina Coomunga C57 and home-grown Willawa Greys Beth, with a birthweight of +4.2.

It had an EMA of 104sqcm and a 4.8pc IMF, while its 200, 400 and 600-day weights were recorded as +19, +35 and +55.

Three of the seven sires were purchased by Bremer Bay producer WK & B Thomas, who paid a top of $4000, then $3750 for the remaining two.

One of the first buyers to register was Durnbond, Walpole, who got to the Blue Ribbon sale extra early to secure Willawa Greys Gill (PB) for $4250.

Landmark stud stock auctioneer John Wirth said that for a multi-breed sale, buyers were very breed-selective and prices weren't quite as high as previous years.

"The Angus sold very well, as did the Murray Greys," he said.

"The clearance for the Simmental was quite good but the Charolais and the Blondes were a bit tough this year.

"Every stud presented a very even line-up of bulls, with a consistency across all the breeds."